Hi all,
I'm helping someone I.D. her Oz cooper S. It has all the right markers, and I am very comfortable that it is the real thing. It was built in Oz near the end of the mk2 run (12/70, with correct numbers), and then spent some time in NZ before being sent to the US.

One strange thing, though, is that it has an extra VIN plate on the slam panel, and the number is nothing like what I've ever seen before. Photo attached, and the number is: 7ABCY080794736348

Was there perhaps some requirement in NZ to have this on there, or is it just something that got added for some unknown reason?

Also, the car is (and supposedly has always been) Jet Red monotone. I see that this was a color in 69 and 71, but not 70. It is possible that the 71 color got used in late 70?

Thanks as always,
bmc

P.S. The car is registered in the US with the bogus VIN plate, not the normal one you'd expect.

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Ben McCafferty
Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA
1970 ex-police mk2 Cooper S

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but a car that old should not have a 17 digit VIN number as they weren't introduced until much later.

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Hey Jess,
No, you're correct, and I wasn't clear. The car has the correct ID plate on the right front vertical firewall area, and the chassis number is YG2S4 27XX. The build number is stamped behind the master cylinders and is 22XX. Engine number also falls into the correct range for the build date of 12/70 that's listed on the ID plate. The VIN plate on the slam panel is added, or else perhaps it was just on a slam panel that got used to repair front-end damage?

The owner says it is 7ABC... but it looks like 7A8C... to me. Either way it shouldn't be there.

bmc

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Ben McCafferty
Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA
1970 ex-police mk2 Cooper S

Do You Know if the car came in to the USA Via Canada

Hey John,
No, I don't know, but don't think so. Was it common to use the longer vin when coming via Canada?
bmc

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Ben McCafferty
Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA
1970 ex-police mk2 Cooper S

that pic is the NZ vin plate

all cars sold in NZ after about 1996 ish had to have a specific id plate attached at the time of registration.

so just ignore it, in fact if you never intend on using the car in NZ again, i would remove the plate. be carful though, they are supposed to "curl" up when you undo the rivets.

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I am not sure about this, However I do remember a guy a couple of years ago having a similar plate on his Mini and it came in Via Canada, The general thought was that Canada Made them fit a Vin Plate

Hmmm...so that would say that it was sold in NZ at some point after 1996, yes? Since it's registered with that VIN in the US, I wonder if/how it could be switched back to the "true" VIN. Might have to look into that.

Thanks.
bmc

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Ben McCafferty
Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA
1970 ex-police mk2 Cooper S

Greyghost is definetly on the money.

I've also seen a similar looking plate which was on a VW kombi van. The owner had used it to travel around the world, and it had been given a special vin number so that it would come up in different countries databases, or something along those lines.

of course i am.

i used to live there, and my girl friend worked at the local testing station.
so i was "privy" to all the rules and changes.

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